1. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to an interior light blocking and privacy curtain for a vehicle windshield and side door windows.
2. Description of Prior Art
There are many devices available for blocking light entry into a vehicle. A popular design by Abraham Levy, U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,396, describes a foldable sunshade of rigid cardboard material, but has a loose fit, and is cumbersome to handle and hard to store. A similar device is U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,334 by J. S. Hogg that provides holes in the device to enable an occupant to see out without disturbing the shade. Other variations of flexible shade panels have been developed using drawstrings for all borders, or for only horizontal and vertical adjustments as with F. Shafia U.S. Pat. No. 4,862,943. The prior art must rely on some sort of miscellaneous fixture attached to the interior of the vehicle around the perimeter of the window being covered. A semi-rigid design as patented to E. B. White, U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,937, must rely on two stiff but flexible rods with shade material attached between the upper and lower rods with the lower rod attaching to the dashboard via a suitable fastener and then pulling the upper rod with material attached to a prepositioned hook device at the upper border of the windshield. This device is also cumbersome to store and does not cover side windows. It also requires attachment of undesirable fasteners to the interior of the vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,581 granted to T. C. McNamee, explains an arrangement of various flexible plies that, when attached to the windshield, will reduce incoming light, and if privacy is desired, a second ply of opaque material that is hinged along its lower edge, is brought up to covers the first ply. This device also requires modification to dashboard and windshield area, and does not afford coverage to side windows. U.S. Pat. No. 4,109,957 by J. R. Polizzi, describes a quickly removable curtain for covering the interior side of a vehicle windshield. This device utilizes a plurality of snap fasteners screwed to structural portions of interior, and transparent suction cups on other areas.
Repeatedly, the positive features of these devices depend upon the use of items not consistent with modern refined and advanced vehicle interiors. Suction cup devices may not impair vision, but their presence is not complimentary to the clean lines of the windshield. Also, the additional hardware is difficult to clean around and suction cup devices do not adhere to most modern textured plastics present in today's vehicles.
It is an object of the invention to eliminate the need to burden the vehicle interior with unsightly and objectionable mechanical fastening devices.
An additional object of this invention is to eliminate permanently mounted hardware that could be hazardous in an accident such as metal fasteners, hooks, rods, etc.
A further object of this invention is to provide a curtain intended for ease of use and storage. The curtain can be folded, rolled, or stuffed into a sack or convenient area.
Still another object of the invention is to permit the use of a curtain in a vehicle that does not allow modifications to be made to the interior, such as a rental vehicle.
A further object of this invention is to provide a curtain for the large truck cab which has a windshield perimeter dimension that will not accommodate fasteners, or is prohibited from the use of fasteners or any device attached to the windshield which would be an obstruction to the driver's view.